Hokies must extend dominance of Virginia to earn bowl berth

Virginia Tech will look to extend two important streaks Saturday when it hosts in-state rival Virginia.

The Hokies have won eight straight games against the Cavaliers, and they need one win to become bowl eligible for the 20th straight year.

Losing and ending those streaks would be devastating to Virginia Tech's players.

"I don't want to be a part of the team that loses to UVa and the team that doesn't go to a bowl," Virginia Tech freshman tailback J.C. Coleman said.

The Hokies broke a three-game losing streak and picked up their first road victory of the season at Boston College on Saturday. They want to finish the season strong with a win over the Cavaliers and qualify for any bowl.

The players insist it doesn't matter where they play in the postseason, as long as they are playing somewhere.

"I wouldn't say that whether it's big or small really matters," linebacker Jack Tyler said. "We just want to go to a bowl."

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NCAAF Team Report - Virginia Tech - NOTES, QUOTES

Coleman first freshman to lead Hokies in rushing since 2001

--TB J.C. Coleman leads the Hokies with 450 rushing yards. The last time a true freshman led the team in rushing in a season was 2001 when Kevin Jones rushed for 957 yards.

--WRs Marcus Davis (20.0) and Corey Fuller (19.6) rank first and second, respectively, in yards per catch among ACC receivers with at least 15 receptions. Both receivers have 14 receptions of 20 yards or more this season, and they have combined for 11 catches of 40 or more yards.

--LB Jack Tyler and Steve Greer of Virginia are tied for second place in the ACC in average tackles per game at 9.4. Both have 103 tackles through 11 games.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Virginia Tech senior WR Marcus Davis, who came off the bench to catch five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown at Boston College, is 105 yards shy of breaking the school's single-season receiving record of 962 set by Andre Davis in 1999. Davis also needs only 142 yards to become the first player at Virginia Tech to gain 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Virginia Tech is one of only six Football Bowl Subdivision programs without a 1,000-yard receiver for a season, along with Nebraska, Temple, South Florida, Army and Navy.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: With its recent surge, Virginia Tech ranks 10th in the nation in tackles for losses at 7.45 per game. The Hokies have recorded 51 tackles for losses, and 23 sacks, in the last six games.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I've never been to a bad bowl game. They're all good." -- Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

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NCAAF Team Report - Virginia Tech - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

NEXT GAME: Virginia at Virginia Tech, Nov. 24 -- The Hokies look to extend the nation's third-longest bowl streak to 20 years with a win over the in-state rival Cavaliers. Virginia Tech leads the series, 57-37-5, and has won eight straight over Virginia, and 12 of the last 13. The Hokies have won six straight over the Cavaliers in Blacksburg.

KEYS TO THE GAME: If the Hokies play disciplined football, the way they did against Boston College, they should be able to roll to a home victory over the Cavaliers. Virginia Tech was turnover-free against Boston College, which was why it was able to hang on and win in overtime for its first road win of the season. The Hokies are 1-3 in their last five games, despite out-gaining their opponents in all of them. The difference between the win and the three losses was turnovers.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

QB Logan Thomas -- Thomas and Michael Vick are the only two quarterbacks in Virginia Tech history to rush for eight or more touchdowns in a season twice. Thomas needs 346 passing yards to become the Hokies' first quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in two separate seasons.

--WR Demitri Knowles -- Knowles' 585 yards on kickoff returns is the second-highest single-season figure on record for a Virginia Tech player since 1952, trailing Billy Hardee's 758 yards in 1973. Knowles ranks 11th nationally in average yards per kickoff (29.25).

--K Cody Journell -- Journell was selected ACC Specialist of the Week after tying a career-high with 12 points at Boston College. The junior made three field goals and tied a career-long with a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. He sent the game into overtime with a 41-yard field goal that glanced off the left upright with a little more than a minute to play. Journell is 17- for-20 on field goals and 4-for-4 on game-tying, lead-changing or game-winning field goals in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career. He is 9-for-12 on field goals of 40 yards or more.

ROSTER REPORT

--RB Michael Holmes, a redshirt freshman, has missed the last two games because of a thigh bruise. "We'll see if we want to rotate him in there this week," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.

--OLB Alonzo Tweedy has impressed in his first major playing time the last two weeks, but coach Frank Beamer indicated that Tweedy and redshirt freshman Ronny Vandyke are still battling for the starting spot.

--CB Donaldven Manning, a true freshman, missed Saturday's game for undisclosed reasons. It is still unclear whether he will dress for Saturday's regular season finale against Virginia.

--Wide receiver remains a fluid position for the Hokies. Freshman Kevin Asante and redshirt freshman Demitri Knowles made their first career starts in place of seniors Dyrell Roberts and Marcus Davis at Boston College, and coach Frank Beamer said the competition for the starting spots will continue this week in practice.